Tape belt



March 6, 1951 W. J. ELVIN ETAL TAPE BELT Filed Nov. 22, 1944.

of cellulose acetate yarns.

Patented Mar. 6, 1951 TAPE BELT William J. Elvin and George L. McLuckie, Frostburg, Md., assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application November 22, 1944, Serial No. 564,668

' 6 Claims. 1 This invention relates to tape belts, and relates more particularly to fabric tape belts for ring twisting machines and like textile'devices.

Fabric tape belts for use in textile devices, such as those employed for driving the spindles in ring twisting machines are normally woven cotton webs of narrow width. Such cotton tape belts have a relatively short operational life, namely on the order of 80 days. It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide a fabric tape belt which will not only have a longer operational life than a cotton belt, but which will also have other improved characteristics.

Another object of this invention isthe provision of a fabric tape belt made of relatively strong yarns or filaments having a basis of a cellulose ester.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a novel method of preparing fabric tape belts.

Other objects of this invention will appear' from thefollowing detailed description and accompanying drawing.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a fabric tape prepared in accordance with this invention, prior to havin its ends lapped and joined to form a belt,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fabric tape belt formed from the fabric tape shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a detail cross-sectional view, on a Slightly enlarged scale, of the lap of the fabric tape belt shown in Figure 2.

Like reference numeral indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing for a detailed description of this invention, the reference numeral 4 indicate a fabric tape preferably woven The tape may be woven in the desired narrow width, usually and 1 /2", on a suitable loom, Or the tape may be cut by means of a hot knife, which cuts and simultaneously seals the cut edge against raveling, from wide fabric webs of desired textile construction. Preferably, however, the tapes are woven on suitable looms which looms provide the edges with a selvedge whereby the tape belts may be used for a considerable length of time without fraying of the edges.

While it is preferred that the webs, both narrow and wide,'be woven wholly from cellulose acetate yarn, they may also be woven from cellulose acetate yarn mixed with other yarns, i. e.

the woven fabric web may be a mixed fabric containin cellulose acetate yarn alternating either in the warp or in the weft, or in both the warp and the weft, in any desired degree of alternation, with other thermoplastic yarns or yarns of non-thermoplastic fibers, such as cotton, regenerated cellulose, etc. Moreover, the tape may be prepared in such a manner that either the Warp or the weft consists wholly of cellulose acetate yarn while the other component consists of non-thermoplastic yarn.

The cellulose acetate yarn employed in preparing the tape belts in thi invention is of high" tensile strength. Such strong yarns are produced by stretching the, cellulose acetate yarn under suitable conditions. For example, the cellulose acetate yarn, or the cellulose acetate filaments from which the yarn is prepared, may be subjected to a stretching operation in presence of solvents or swelling agents for the cellulose acetate, such as dioxane, acetone, acetic acid and diacetone alcohol, either in the form of aqueous solutions thereof or in the vapor state.

A particularly satisfactory method of treating the filamentary materials having a basis of cellulose acetate to increase the tensile strength thereof is to subject them to a stretching operation in the presence of water, or saturated or wet steam under pressure at a temperature above C. The degree of stretch to which the filamentary materials are subjected is preferably on the order of 200% or more. While the materials stretched are preferably continuous filaaments or yarns composed of continuous filaments, they may be spun yarn made of short or more or less long lengths of filaments.

Tapes made of stretched cellulose acetate yarn are much superior than cotton tapes when employed as spindle belts since the cellulose acetate tapes have an elongation of over 50% less than the cotton tapes and have a Serigraph break of 530 pounds against 480 pounds for the cotton tapes, when the tapes are conditioned, and a serigraph break of 564 pounds against 365 pounds for the cotton tapes in the bone-dry state.

To form the tape belt, generally indicated by reference numeral 5, the tape 4 of stretched cellulose acetate yarn, is lapped and sewnat the lap by suitable stitching shown at 6 in Figures 2 and 3. However, the ends I and 8 of the tape 4 which form the lap of the belt 5 are first treated to reduce the thickness thereof by subjecting said ends I and B to a saponification treatment. This saponification treatment not only causes the ends to be reduced in thickness, but also changes the chemical composition and increases the tensile strength of the yarns in th area saponified.

The saponification of ends I and 8 may be effected by treating said ends with any suitable saponifyings agent, either inorganic or organic. Examples of inorganic saponifying agents are ammonium, caustic soda, caustic potash and sodium silicate, while examples of organic saponifying agents are organic nitrogenous bases, such as lower aliphatic amines, polymethyleneamines, for example, cyclohexylamine, N-alkyl and aralkyl substitution derivatives thereof and heterocyclic bases, for example piperidine. The degree of saponification of the, ends 1 and 8 of the tape 4 is such that the thickness of the tape at said ends is reduced from 60 to 65% of its original thickness so that the thickness of the lap formed in belt. 5 is from. 120- to. 130% of the thickness. of the. tape, thus. approaching the quality of an endless belt.v

While the present invention has been described above morev particularly with. reference to-cellue lose. acetate yarns. or filaments, yarns or filaments. of. other esters of cellulose may also be employed to. produce the fabric tapes, suchv as, for example, cellulose propionate and cellulose butyrate. Yarns and filaments of mixed esters of cellulose suchv as cellulose acetate propionate.

and. cellulose acetate butyrate. may also be employed'to. formthe fabric tape.

The term "integral? as employed in the. claims isto be. construed inits narrowest sense, name1y asmeaning structurally. integral and constituting; a single piece.

It is to be understood that. the foregoing de-,- tailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having, described our invention, what We desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1.. A belt comprising a woven fabric tape consisting essentially of yarns having a basis of a cellulose ester and having integral ends reduced. in thickness by a saponification treatment, said ends being lapped and positively joined at the lapped portions.

2. A belt comprising a woven fabric tape consisting essentially of yarns having a basis of cellulose acetate and having integral ends reduced in thickness by a saponification treatment, said ends being lapped and positively joined at the lapped portions.

3; A belt, comprising a woven fabric tape consisting essentially of stretched. yarns having a basis of a cellulose ester and having integral ends reduced in thickness by a saponification treatment, said ends being lapped and positively joined at the lapped portions.

4. A belt comprising a woven fabric tape consisting essentially of stretched yarns having a basis of cellulose acetate and having integral ends reduced, in thickness by a saponification treatment, said ends being lapped and positively joined at the lapped portions.

5. A belt comprising a woven fabric tape consisting essentially of stretched cellulose ester yarns. and. having integral. endsv of regenerated cellulose, said endsbeing lapped and positively joined at the lapped portions.

6. A belt comprising, a woven fabric tape consisting essentially of stretched cellulose acetate yarns and having integral ends of regenerated cellulose, said ends being lapped and positively joined at the lapped portions.

WILLIANI J. ELVIN. GEORGE L. MCLUCKIE.

REFERENCES CITED Thev following, references are of. record in. the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 25,749 Dougall Oct. 11, 1859 1,203,189 Fisher Oct. 31,.1916 1,412,309. Lambert, Apr. 11, 1922 2,091,967 Drefus Sept. 7, 1937 2,179,655 Cutler Nov. 14, 1939 2,273,200 Hoff Feb. 17, 1942 2,294,088 Kholas Aug. 25, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 425,994 Great Britain Mar. 25, 1935 

